1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to rowing machine-type exercise apparatus, both those limited to operation in a single plane generally parallel to the underlying support surface as well as those operable in multiple inclined and declined planes relative to the support surface. In particular, the invention relates to a handle structure which, when in used in combination with a rowing machine-type exercise apparatus, enables a user thereof to enjoy an extended range of motion for a wide range of exercise protocols which preferentially emphasize selected ones of the hand/wrist, elbow and shoulder joint complexes, individually and/or as a continuous kinetic chain.
2. Background
The sedentary lifestyle of modern men and women and corresponding injuries associated with such lifestyles are among the reasons motivating widespread interest in exercise machines. However, the rapid proliferation of exercise machines, many of varied design, have complicated the task of identifying a machine which, when used in conjunction with an appropriate exercise protocol, will enable the efficient acquisition and maintenance of strength, flexibility and energy system fitness. Among the more common exercise machines are stationary bicycles, step machines, and treadmills. All of these can be characterized as “2-limb” exercise machines in that they primarily work the legs of the user. Accordingly, none of these exercise machines are suitable for those seeking full body workouts.
The rowing machine is a “4-limb” exercise machine and is therefore capable of providing a more complete body workout. Broadly speaking, a rowing machine operates by generating resistance to a rowing motion made by the user. Typically, rowing machines are designed such that this rowing motion occurs in the horizontal plane, generally parallel to the surface on which the rowing machine is supported. This will be referred to herein as a horizontal stroke axis. The rowing motion is comprised of two phases—an extension (or “pull”) phase and a recoil (or “flex”) phase performed along the stroke axis. Presumably to simulate an actual rowing motion, the pull phase is typically loaded (or resisted) while the flex phase is not. When actually rowing a boat, the pull phase is resisted by the water while the flex phase is not since the oar is out of the water.
Rowing machines have been developed with various ways to provide resistance to the rowing motion. Early versions of rowing machines employed a wheel and pulley mechanism to provide resistance to the rowing motion. Later, rowing machines employed a pair of shock absorber-like piston and cylinder mechanisms attached between the frame and respective arms thereof to generate resistance to the user's rowing motion. Additional rowing machine designs have employed an isokinetic wheel-belt resistance system arranged such that the user's pulling on a cable turns a wheel, which in turn is resisted by friction against a variably-tensioned belt.
More recent rowing machines have employed an air-fan type isokinetic system to provide resistance to the user's rowing motion. Such rowing machines typically include a seat that slides unresisted with the user's motion and a rowing handle attached via a cable to a ratchet-type gear inserted into the center of a spinning air-fan type wheel. The ratchet system enables the air-fan wheel to continue to spin via momentum in the flex phase during which the user flexes their body and shortens the cable in preparation for another pull phase. A conventional rowing machine 10, which employs an air-fan type isokinetic system may be seen in FIG. 1, described in more detail below.
By using a typical horizontal rowing machine, the user can obtain low to moderate strength and muscular fitness gains in the leg extensors, the torso extensors, the upper back, the shoulder girdle, the elbow flexors and the forearms. Most of these muscular gains are obtained during the loaded pull phase of the rowing stroke while little if any gains are obtained during the unloaded flex phase. When limited to the horizontal plane, an exercise protocol performed using a typical air-fan type isokinetic rowing machine tends to only reinforce the development of extensor strength in the lower and upper legs and in the lower and upper posterior torso. In particular, in the pull phase of the stroke, the torso extensors actively work and the shoulder girdle actively stabilizes while the upper arms extend during the pull. Conversely, in the flex phase of the stroke, only the weight of the head and torso is used to maintain exercise neutral momentum as the head/torso moves forward during the flex. Accordingly, the attendant muscular fitness gains are limited to the leg extensors (calves and quadriceps), the torso extensors (spinal erectors), the upper back (shoulder retractors), the shoulder girdle, the elbow flexors (biceps) and, by virtue of a fixed wrist isometric handle hold, the forearms. It should also be appreciated that, as the aforementioned exercise protocol for the traditional rowing machine is performed in the horizontal plane, gravity has no appreciable resistive effect during either the flex or pull phases of the stroke. Thus, in contrast with some exercise machines and protocols, gravity does not enhance the fitness effect experienced.
Thus, while the rowing machine is a 4-limb exercise machine, its ability to provide a full body workout suffers from the fact it is generally only capable of producing low to moderate gains in the extensor muscles employed during the pull phase and significantly less (or no) gains in the flexor muscles employed during the flex phase. The resultant strength imbalances created have likely contributed to the reputation of both the traditional rowing machine, and exercise protocols for the traditional rowing machine, as being a less than full-body fitness solution, not significantly better than other fitness machines such as 2-limb machines.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/925,934, I disclosed a rowing machine uniquely configured to allow the rowing motion to occur in multiple inclined or declined planes. In that application, I further disclosed novel exercise protocols and methods for maximizing the full-body muscular fitness gains that can be realized from use of the multi-planar rowing machine in those planes. While the machines are quite distinct from one another, both the multi-planar rowing machine which I disclosed in the aforementioned application as well as the prior, horizontal rowing machines upon which I sought to improve shared certain features unrelated to the plane of the stroke axis. More specifically, consistent with the traditional view of rowing machines being used to simulate flat-water rowing, heretofore, the handle for virtually all rowing machines designed for usage in the horizontal plane have been designed essentially as a segment of the “oar or oars” which would be normally used to effect flat-water rowing. Accordingly, the handle of rowing machines designed solely for use in the horizontal plane have traditionally been configured in a “bar-shaped” design and, in designing a novel rowing machine configured to permit operation in plural inclined planes, I similarly employed the same bar-shaped handle design used in the prior art.
Typically, the bar-shaped handle of a rowing machine is gripped by a user in a palms-down position in which both the hands and the wrist are pronated. Once gripped in this manner, the user typically maintains this grip on the bar-shaped handle during both the pull and flex phases of a stroke. By using a bar-shaped handle in combination with a traditional flat ground rowing technique, the user is considerably limited as to the range of movement for each of the hand/wrist, elbow and shoulder during a stroke. More specifically, the hand/wrist is isometrically fixed in a pronated position midway between wrist flexion and wrist extension during the rowing stroke with no radial and minimal ulnar deviation possible. The elbow is pronated throughout the rowing stroke with partial elbow flexion and elbow extension occurring during the stroke. Finally, partial shoulder extension and adduction can occur during the rowing stroke.